BLOOMINGTON - Megan Bynog came out of the Mount Moriah Christian Church on Saturday afternoon with a few pairs of jeans and a winter coat for her daughter.

Bynog, 31, who recently relocated to the Twin Cities from Louisiana after Hurricane Gustav, said the community clothing drive was a big help to her in getting her two children and herself ready for the coming winter.

"This is great," she said. "When we left Louisiana we came with one trunk load of our stuff. That's all we were able to take out."

The clothing drive, God's Clothes Closet, is a collaborative effort between Mount Moriah, Joy Full Gospel Community Church and East White Oak Bible Church. It was held at Mount Moriah, 510 E. Washington St.

Earlier this summer, the churches also teamed up with 14 other area churches to help organize the Bloomington Block Bash at Miller Park. Then, 1,200 backpacks filled with school supplies were given out.

"We didn't want our efforts to just be a one-day ministry," said Susan Blystone, one of the organizers and a member of East White Oak Bible Church.

In addition to the clothing drive and the block bash, the churches have been finding other ways to help the community by providing such things as hair cuts and organizing a gymnastics camp.

Ya-Roni Prather, a drive organizer from Mount Moriah, said the efforts by the churches have shown the community has a lot of needs and that God provides a way to meet those needs.

Advertising for the clothing drive was limited but there was a line by 12:25 p.m, Prather said. The drive was held from 1 to 5 p.m.

Fellow drive organizer Diane Todd from Joy Full Gospel said the response to the drive was a little overwhelming.

Organizers estimated that they had served more than 200 in the first two hours.

Sharon Rice of Bloomington said the clothing drive was a big help for her. Rice is a full-time student at Heartland Community College with four children.

"With the inflation, and the light bill and the gas prices going up, this really helps," Rice said. "Overall this community has a lot of great resources to help struggling families and this is just one more of them."

The primary focus of the churches' joint efforts has been to help the community, but Prather said the efforts have created their own rewards.

"This definitely has created a bridge in relationships," Prather said, adding that she first met Blystone in August.

Mount Moriah and Joy Full are churches in downtown Bloomington while East White Oak is based in rural Carlock.

"I don't think we would have ever met if we hadn't come together to continue this ministry," Prather said. "It's not where you go to worship that is important, it is what is in your heart and doing what God calls you to do."